Rosa Elena Hernandez: Long Beach, California woman beaten to death by stranger with electric scooter during broad daylight. Motive unknown.
A California woman has been beaten to death with an electric scooter in an apparent random attack in broad daylight according to cops.
Rosa Elena Hernandez, 63, of Long Beach was assaulted by a hoodie-wearing man while she was in the area around 12:30 p.m. Monday, the Long Beach Police Department said in a released statement.
Detectives believe the suspect, whose identity was not immediately released, physically attacked the victim and then used a rental Bird brand e-scooter ‘as a weapon during the assault’ before fleeing, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Cops said it wasn’t thought that the victim and the suspect knew each other.
When police arrived at the scene, they found a bludgeoned Hernandez with ‘significant’ injuries to her upper torso. The woman died at the scene.
‘Homicide detectives believe the suspect physically assaulted the victim and then proceeded to utilize a motorized scooter as a weapon during the assault,’ the police statement read.
It wasn’t apparent if the victim was robbed any time of the assault.
Rosa Elena Hernandez murder suspect tracked down:
Within four hours, detectives tracked down a person of interest at a local business and took him into custody, police said.
The man, who wore a black hooded sweatshirt, black pants and red shoes, was later booked for murder and was being held in lieu of $2 million bail.
Police declined releasing the suspect’s name until records can confirm his identity, authorities said.
Neighbors said Hernandez was a married and friendly woman.
‘It’s sad because I feel for her husband,’ neighbor Veronica Morales told NBC Los Angeles, adding that ‘they’ve been together and lived next door for a very long time. He’s not going to have his wife anymore.’
A motive for the attack was not immediately clear.
A GoFundMe campaign, titled ‘En Memoria de Rosa Manjarrez Hernandez,’ was started to cover ‘unplanned funeral expenses’ for the victim’s family.
